These aren’t the droids you’re looking for

The Force is strong with public access television. At least in the Board of Supervisors chamber it is.

With Princess Leia and Darth Vader looking on, the supervisors unanimously approved a resolution that calls on state legislators and congressional leaders to reform laws governing funds for public access television.

Chronicle

Political savvy.

The nonbinding resolution from Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi has no direct impact on the issue at hand, namely a 2006 California law that strips cable TV franchise agreements from municipalities and turns over control to the state. That means the bulk of operational funding for the programming will dry up. San Francisco’s public access TV station may close its doors or greatly reduce operations on June 30.

Still, it made for some classic San Francisco political theater.

Mirkarimi gave a nod to the Sith lord and rebel princess during his discussion of the resolution and at a couple of points had to contain his chuckling.

“The rebel forces are under attack from corporate America,” said Leia, aka Christina Marie Flores, host of the show SFLiveTV, outside the chamber. “The Board of Supervisors must not succumb to the dark side.”

Supporters of the city’s freewheeling public access TV shows, which range from “Global Nuclear Coverup” to “The San Francisco Gospel Experience,” blame AT&T for pushing a statewide cable franchising law that ends the requirement that cable operators provide funding for public access TV.

AT&T went so far as to hire lobbyists to oppose the nonbinding resolution, a step Mirkarimi called “severe overkill.”

While today’s board action didn’t get the law changed, it provided a thrilling moment for some Brazilian tourists who posed with the Star Wars characters and snapped photos before asking a reporter what was going on.